Related

There were just eight wheelchair racers in four divisions in Sunday’s Vancouver Sun 10K, but the post-race stories once again showed it’s quality not quantity when it comes to those in the rolling wheels game.

To wit:

• Kelly Smith, of Langley, earning his 10th win in the open men’s division, with his fastest time since 2006 (23 minutes, 23.3 seconds). He just arrived home Saturday night from Portugal where the United Kingdom Paralympic team he is helping to coach was holding a three-week training camp

• Michelle Stilwell, of Nanoose Bay, winning the women’s quad division for the seventh time with the fastest time (32:39.7) of her career. This summer, she’s preparing to defend the two gold medals she won at the 2008 Paralympics,

• American Paralympian Dr. Anjali Forber-Pratt going 34:23.3 in a hastily re-welded chair that was heavily damaged by American Airlines on her flight to Vancouver for the race and the American Educational Research Association conference.

Smith, now 47 but in excellent shape as a result of working alongside the British athletes he’s preparing for the London Paralympics, had hoped to go under 23 minutes, but jet lag might have been an issue.

“Yeah, I landed last night from Portugal and I’ve got to work this evening — keeping it interesting,” said the former Paralympian, whose day job is as an air traffic controller.

“It’s kind of re-invigorating for me to be out there,” he added of working directly with Paralympians. “I call myself more a facilitator than a coach because I’m out there on the track and on the road pushing with them. It’s getting me back in shape doing that.”

Smith was invited to help the British effort by former coach Peter Eriksson, a longtime coach with many of Canada’s top wheelchair racers. Also coaching with Eriksson is legendary Canadian Paralympian Chantal Petitclerc, a 14-time gold medallist in wheelchair track.

“It’s a little hard sitting here in Canada,” conceded Smith. “There’s always a part of you that’s Canadian and feels that home country pride, but working with my coach again, it’s a little bit of a reunion in some ways because me and Chantal raced together for years, too.

“We’d love to see ourselves in Canada doing the same thing, but I’m also passionate about the sport. As far as the national team goes, the right sort of opportunity was never presented to me to make it work.”

Smith, who won the silver medal in the wheelchair marathon at the 2004 Paralympics, is a thrill-seeker of the highest order. His newest outlet is free-diving. Last year, a month after he won the Sun Run in 27:04 with a damaged elbow as a result of a mountain bike crash in Hawaii, he set a Canadian record for static breath hold of seven minutes, 27 seconds. “If my fitness comes back, I’ll probably look at making an eight minute attempt in the fall.”

Stilwell will race both the 100 and 200 metres in London, the only two races for her T52 disability class because of the small number of women racing in that class.

“The next few months is really busy, that’s the track season,” said Stilwell of her preparations. “I’m going to try to get in as many races as I can and really focus on my race preparation and the routine I have before a race so that when I get to London, I’ve already done it a thousand times in my head and hundreds of times on the track.

“I want it to be so seamless and so flawless.”

Forber-Pratt, a bronze medallist on the track in the T53 class at Beijing in 2008, was upbeat, even though she competed in a chair that wasn’t aligned perfectly. American Airlines dropped something “pretty heavy” on the cage holding her $5,000, aluminum racing chair, she said. The fender on her right wheel was bent and the left side collapsed down.

“They had to take the Jaws of Life thing to, like, crack the cage open. I’m just glad to be able to get in the chair and get from start to finish today,” said Forber-Pratt, a University of Illinois scholar who received a dissertation award this weekend from the AERA.

She spent part of Saturday searching out a welder to repair her chair in time to race Sunday.

“The Cambie Cycle Shop, they were my heroes,” said a smiling Forber-Pratt.

She still will need a new chair before the London Paralympics. The airline has promised to help. “Between the airline and some friends and donors who heard the story yesterday, hopefully we’ll get it situated soon.

Her time of 34:23.3 was about four minutes over her 10K personal best.

“For early-season 10K it was okay. It’s a hilly course. Those bridges get to you.”

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Saskatoon loves its Christmas lights. The Enchanted Forest draws thousands of vehicles each week. The late Bob Hinitt worked for months building his light display, which drew thousands of cars each year to Wiggins Avenue. And Scott Lambie on Clinkskill Drive has continued the tradition with more than 70,000 dancing lights (up from 50,000 last […]

When it comes to gift giving, they say it’s the thought that counts. But many are wondering if Mayor Drew Dilkens was thinking at all when he gave Olympic superstar Michael Phelps — whose battles with booze are well known — a big bottle of Canadian Club whisky.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.